Did you know Columbia is nicknamed “Soda City” because Coca-Cola was invented here? Just kidding.

Maybe we fooled you, maybe we didn’t. Believe it or not, Columbia does have some pretty unbelievable facts that we’re sharing with you today.

Fact 1: Charles F. Bolden — former astronaut + 12th Administrator of NASA — graduated from C. A. Johnson High School in 1964. Charles spent four missions in orbit on the space shuttle, and orbited the Earth 444 times, logging over 680 hours in space.

Fact 2: Local Kenneth Huggins currently holds a Guinness World Record for owning the largest collection of toasters — we’re talking 1,284 of them.

Fact 3: In April + May of 1540, a Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, traveled through the Carolinas, including what is now Columbia, while moving northward. More specifically, he traveled along the Broad, Saluda, and Congaree Rivers.

Fact 4: It’s no secret Assembly Street is a wide road in the heart of Columbia, but local lore in the 18th century claims it was specifically designed that way because early city planners thought it would be too wide for mosquitos to cross.

Read about some possible renovations coming to the broad street.

Fact 5: The South Caroliniana Library was the first library in the nation built as a separate building in 1840. The free-standing library was constructed at the University of South Carolina, and you can read the full history of the library here.

These could’ve fooled us. Do you have a crazy Cola fact that still has you second guessing? Let us know and you just might make it into the newsletter.